AP Business Highlights
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Bank
of America Corporation Com
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General
Mills, Inc. Common Stoc
On Wednesday March 23, 2011, 5:51 pm
EDT
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged in February to the fewest on records dating
back nearly half a century, a dismal sign for an already-weak housing market. New-home
sales fell 16.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
250,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It's the third straight
monthly decline and far below the 700,000-a-year pace that economists view as
healthy. The
median price of a new home dropped nearly 14 percent to $202,100, the lowest
since December 2003. New-home prices are now 30 percent higher than of those
being resold. Japan
disaster likely to be world's costliest TOKYO
(AP) -- Japan's government said the cost of the earthquake and tsunami that
devastated the northeast could reach $309 billion, making it the world's most
expensive natural disaster on record. The
extensive damage to housing, roads, utilities and businesses across seven
prefectures has resulted in direct losses of between 16 trillion yen ($198
billion) and 25 trillion yen ($309 billion), according to a Cabinet Office
estimate Wednesday. If
the government's projection proves correct, it would top the losses from
Hurricane Katrina. The 2005 megastorm that ravaged New Orleans and the
surrounding region cost $125 billion, according to the Insurance Information
Institute. In
blow for BofA, Fed rejects its dividend plan NEW
YORK (AP) -- It was one more blow for Bank of America: The Federal Reserve
didn't allow nation's largest bank to increase its dividends. The
decision by the Fed makes Bank of America Corp. the only one of the four
largest U.S. banks that wasn't able to raise its dividend, something
shareholders have been clamoring for. The
Fed's decision, which BofA disclosed in a regulatory filing Wednesday, also
raised questions over whether the bank is strong enough to withstand another
economic downturn. Bernanke
says bank overhaul will help small banks WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a group of executives from
smaller banks Wednesday that the financial overhaul will level the playing
field for them with the industry's giants. Bernanke
said it would be important for the banks to adapt to the changing regulatory
environment, in remarks to the annual convention in San Diego of small- and
medium-size banks. Bernanke acknowledged their concerns about the new law. But
he said most of the requirements are aimed the country's biggest banks and not
them. Congress
passed the regulatory law last year in an effort to prevent a repeat of the
2008 financial crisis. Small-bank executives have complained that it will cost
them a lot of money to meet the new rules, even though they were not
responsible for causing the financial crisis. Portugal's
prime minister quits after losing debt vote LISBON,
Portugal -- Debt-stressed Portugal's prime minister says he has quit after
opposition parties rejected his proposals that were devised to avoid a bailout. All
opposition parties united to defeat Prime Minister Jose Socrates' latest
austerity measures in a parliamentary vote Wednesday, saying the
belt-tightening went too far. Socrates said in a statement the defeat made it
impossible for him and his government to ensure Portugal's economic future. The
government's resignation was expected after days of political tension, but
could re-ignite market anxiety about the financial soundness of the wider
eurozone. European leaders hope to soothe nervous international investors at a
summit starting Thursday. General
Mills 3Q net income climbs on snack sales NEW
YORK (AP) -- General Mills Inc.'s net income rose 18 percent in the fiscal
third quarter, driven by the sale of more snacks and strength abroad. The
maker of Nature Valley snack bars and Cheerios cereal has started to raise
prices for some of its products over the past few months to cope with rising
ingredient costs. It expects price increases will accelerate during the current
fiscal fourth quarter. S&P:
Stock buybacks more than doubled in 2010 BOSTON
(AP) -- America's biggest corporations more than doubled their repurchases of
stock last year in another sign of confidence in the economic recovery. Standard
& Poor's said Wednesday that S&P 500 companies spent $299 billion last
year to buy back their shares. That's up from the $138 billion spent in 2009,
when the recession officially ended at midyear. In
the fourth quarter alone, share repurchases jumped 81 percent from a year
earlier, to $86 billion. Despite
the surge, S&P said buybacks last year were still just half of their
pre-recession level. Egypt
exchange plunges on reopening after uprising CAIRO
(AP) -- Egypt's stock market plummeted almost 9 percent in its first day of
trading Wednesday in nearly two months, with foreign investors leading a
sell-off that offered a window into concerns about the country's stability
after mass protests toppled former President Hosni Mubarak. Starbucks
growth strategy: new places, products SEATTLE
(AP) -- Starbucks Corp. is expanding the products and places it sells to
customers and adding extras -- like free online access to Marvel Comics in its
cafes and single-serve coffee machines in other stores. The
company has been working for some time to move its business beyond its cafes,
which took a hit during the recession but have since rebounded. On Wednesday,
executives laid out how the company is putting its new strategy into practice. CEO
Howard Schultz said one of Starbucks' critical steps is expanding its consumer
packaged-goods business, which he said could one day rival its retail business
in revenue. A key component of that will be increasing single-serve coffee
sales in the U.S., an estimated $1.6 billion market. Starbucks says two-thirds
of the growth in the U.S. coffee market during the past year has come from the
single-serve market. By
The Associated Press The
Dow Jones industrial average rose 67.39 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at
12,086.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 3.77 points, or 0.3
percent, to close at 1,297.54. The
Nasdaq composite index rose 14.43, or 0.5 percent, to 2,698.30. Benchmark
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery added 78 cents to settle at
$105.75 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil hasn't settled that
high since Sept. 26, 2008. In
other Nymex trading for April contracts, heating oil dropped 2.12 cents to
settle at $3.0550 per gallon and gasoline futures added 1.68 cents to settle at
$3.0213 per gallon. Natural gas gained 8.1 cents to settle at $4.335 per 1,000
cubic feet. In
London, Brent crude lost 17 cents to settle at $115.47 per barrel on the ICE
Futures exchange. ·
Libor Probe Spurs Witness Call-up at Citigroup, Deutsche
Bank - at Bloomberg ·
Fed rejects BofA plan to raise dividend -
at Financial Times ·
These 22 Stocks Reached 52-Week Highs As Markets Battle
Back - Wall St. Cheat Sheet ·
[video] Higher Oil, Higher Gold - at
CNBC ·
Crises Scramble Fed's Inflation Calculus -
at The Wall Street Journal ·
Higher Dividend from Fifth Third - Zacks
·
Hain Enhances Product Line - Zacks
·
Wells Fargo Sells 10-Year Notes - Zacks
·
General Mills Reports In Line - Zacks
·
WFC Raises Dividend, Plans Buyback -
Zacks ·
Bank of America Corporation Com ·
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